In an article I found on computer world.com that was reported on October 30, 2009, Owen Fletcher reports that China has one of the developed a new computer that can potentially be classified as one of the fastest ever created. The article is entitled, "China claims supercomputer among world's fastest," this computer has been recognized as Milky Way and has the technology to process one million billion calculations per second. This is a measure that is registered in FLOPS which means floating operation points per second, it is stated in the article that the computer will be used for bio-medical computing, seismic data processing during oil exploration and for the design of "aerospace vehicles." The computer contains far more memory and processing that anything else created, it has over 11,000 microprocessors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devises and its exclaimed that the cost to build one of these processors would cost at least 600 million yuan, which when converted to United States dollar would be $88 million.
I am continually impressed with the technological advancement on the current era. With the first introduction to the desktop computer, to the further trend of laptops, to now this. Potentially could the supercomputer outdistance the laptop? I don't know we'll see where time takes us yet for China to introduce this advanced system allows them to thoroughly outdistance themselves technologically from other countries. This begs the question about the United States, are we falling behind to China technologically? China has so many advancements everyday that it is pondering to think if the US will ever be able to compete with them. I am not understating IT in the US, it is just there is everyday evidence that China continues to impress all with there advancements.
In the end I am a supporter of the supercomputer. Although I am content with the current technological devices, there is always room for advancement and it seems that the capabilities of the supercomputer are pretty endless. This article reminded me of that YouTube video that you showed us at the beginning of the year where one slide said that in the future computers will be smarter and be able to out think the human brain, up to this point I see the supercomputer as that piece of technology that will surpass human intelligence.
This article can be found here:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140141/China_claims_supercomputer_among_world_s_fastest
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This supercomputer created in China is undoubtedly a major milestone in the Information technology world. I think that it is amazing how many calculations it can do per second. China says they are going to use it for aerospace and things of that nature, but when is some technology too much? I recently had to write a paper about how technology can be perverted in order to create havoc. Cyber terrorism is a definite threat to our lives because most transactions we make of any kind are done online. I hope that with this new technology they are also developing ways of keeping it in the right hands because I am sure there is someone as smart as those who created it that could somehow use it for the worse.
ReplyDeleteThe invention of this so called supercomputer truly is an amazing advancement. This technology will be implemented in the near future to businesses and the information systems they all depend on to give them the competitive edge in their industry. It is this reason there shouldn’t be a fear that the U.S. is falling behind technologically because even if we didn’t invent it we can still implement the technology to our needs. The world is becoming a more global economy every country that has a true stable and growing economy will be using the same technology and working with anyone and any country they can in order to run their business efficiently.
ReplyDeleteLike Charlie and Pat mentioned, it truly is incredible to see how technology continues to advance everyday. Not only is it an amazing accomplishment for the country of China, but the business and technology world in general. To ask if we're falling behind to China because of this super computer, is questionable. Regardless of what happens, pretty soon all countries and businesses will be able to implement this technology and it won't matter who leads the technology world because everyone will have it.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, it seems as though faith in US technological advancement is compromised. With the tremendous strides China takes, at an exceedingly rapid rate, the question becomes what is next? To talk about a computer surpassing the ability of the human brain is simultaneously exhilarating and frightful. To that end, while the advancement's benefits seem to be great, the risks might be equally as high. As society becomes more hubristic, our reliance on technology grows with every breakthrough. The fact that medical calculations are being to a "supercomputer" begs the question, where does human instinct or ingenuity come into play? All and all the risks and pitfalls of such a high level of dependence on technology outweigh any potential benefits.
ReplyDeleteI find it absolutely amazing that a processor with such speed has been created. Although the system is said to be used for biomedical computing, I think eventually, they will apply it to people's everyday computers. This is typically how new technology is; its uasually exclusive, and then made applicable and avaliable to the general public.
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ReplyDeleteA supercomputer is a major advancement but, with today's technology, I am not that surprised that one has been developed. Although China has invented the "world's fastest" computer, I think it will be interesting to see what happens with this innovation globally. Sometimes technology is not efficiently used and I hope that this computer does not fall into this category. I would like to see this computer help medical needs and benefit society in a unique way. On the other hand, I find it somewhat scary that computers are becoming so similar to human beings. Where does one draw the line between technology and human capabilities? Today, people rely heavily on computers and this invention may only make this worse. If China uses the supercomputer in beneficial ways, however, this can be avoided.
ReplyDeleteLike Tara stated, it is not suprising tha something like the super computer has come about. The computer has grown extremely quickly relative to most technologies in history. In a mere twenty years it went from something that takes up an entire buliding to something that can sit in your lap, or even in your hand, for some phones act as computers. Part of me questions the necessity for this development, for it seems very excessive. But I'm sure that this supercomputer can be used effectively by the government or the military. It does not seem like something that will be coming to common households anywhere in the seen future.
ReplyDeleteI agree that while the news of this technological advancement is exciting and quite impressive for the Chinese to add to their reputation for being the world leaders on technology innovation, I too am not surprised that the world is progressively evolving with their use of technology. It sounds like if this computer is advanced enough to support bio-medical controlling maybe in the future we will be able to manipulate this model into use for other technological advancement like cancer and stem cell research. Also, the fact that this computer can aid in "oil exploration" and aerospace design shows me how our society and the world today is constantly turning to technology to simiplify and improve certain processes. I am curious to see if China plans on mass producing this new faster more efficient computer or if it will remain as a non-commercial reasearch tool. As far as the US is concerned in terms of the supercomputer, I am also not surprised that China came out with this technology first. I know with the new Obama administration, our government is trying to increase and promote technological advances. I am curious to see what advancements in IT will be made from the US or are always going to lagging behind the front runners China and Japan when it comes to creating new technology?
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Tara, that it was inevitable that some country would create a supercomputer which far surpasses the technology used in today's computers. It is actually very interesting that it was China because China has been one of our major competitors in not just technological advancement but also in the global economy. I find that this invention is necessary for the pathway to further technologies especially in the medical world. Any technological advancement that impacts the medical world is a step to the cure of hundreds of diseases, which are left on treated as of today.I also agree with Tara with the fears of such smart computers. While these amazing inventions can be used for good in today's society, it can also be used for the destruction of other nations through the creation of machines with destructive capabilities. It is important to innovate and advance the technological world but we must be careful who's hands these capabilities fall into.
ReplyDeleteThis super computer is very exciting because of how fast it can be and it tops all technology before it. We have progressed from the desktop computer, to the laptop, and now to something this fast is unreal. It is going to help with the medical world a great deal and this is something that such advanced technologies will do good in our world today. Sometimes technology can be used in a negative way, but this is something good that we can all benefit from.
ReplyDeleteThis new technology is a huge step in the right direction. New technology is always in high demand. In a fast moving society, it is only necessary for new technologies like this super computer be created. With new technologies like incredibly fast computers, the world can advance more and more. Seeing new technologies like the Milky Way, I am continually amazed at the capabilities of the human mind. It is unreal to think that our minds can create a computer that is able to process one million billion calculations per second when we it would take us years to do compute this many equations ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis supercomputer shows the level of technology that is being developed right now. There is potential to do so much that the possibilities are practically endless. I'm sure this computer has the potential to do complicated calculations that could take a human a considerably longer amount of time and will be the link to solving a lot of problems in the bio-medical field, and will be useful for studying seismic trends, and many many more things. I think that it is good for China and other countries to develop such a high level of technology because it gives other countries something to compete with and motivation for people to keep taking technology to a higher and higher level. I'm not exactly sure how the FLOPs compares to other supercomputers, but the numbers that are given in this article sound amazing and I am curious to see how this technology will be utilized in the future.
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